Miami Beach Cinemateque - Sept 2007 schedule

XXII International Ballet Festival of Miami

Dance Film Series

Sept. 06 THU 8:30pm: Miami Premieres!

Babel (Peter Sparling, USA, 2005, 7min.)

A former member of Martha Graham Dance Company

returns in a solo that would only be possible on screen. Mirroring the voices in

Arvo Part’s score, he reveals four physical personalities. He transcends boundaries

of gender and character while charting a man’s struggle to embody his own metamorphosis.



Lucinda Childs (Patrick Bensard, France, 2006, 56min.)

Lucinda Childs' work dates back to the sixties,

the period in which New York’s “downtown” circle of artists pushed each other to

explore and experiment beyond convention. Now, after decades based in Paris, Lucinda

lives in Martha’s Vineyard where she takes time to reflect between choreographic

assignments around the world.





Sept. 07 FRI 8:30pm: Miami Premieres!

Opium (Miles Lowry and David Ferguson, Canada, 2006, 24min.)

Suddenly Dance Theatre’s narrative is inspired by a three-month

episode in the life of the French artist Jean Cocteau (1889-1963). OPIUM imagines

Cocteau’s harrowing stay at a clinic near Paris in 1929, where he hoped for a cure for

his addiction to opium.



Georgians In Maryinski (Zurab Inashvili, Georgia, 2003, 47min.)

Manana Kvachadze produced this documentary rich with

information, interviews and archival footage. A treat for ballet lovers with

background on George Balanchine, Vakhtang Chabukiani, and others.






Sept. 08 SAT 8:30pm: Miami Premiere!

Serge Lifar Musagete (Dominique Delouche, France, 2005, 88min.)

Produced by Les Films du Prieuré, this documentary is a

tribute to the lasting legacy of the French-Russian dancer/choreographer Serge Lifar

(1905-1988) who carried on the Diaghilev tradition of the Ballets Russes.






Sept. 09 SUN 8pm: Miami Premieres!

One Flat Thing, Reproduced (Thierry de Mey France 2006 26min)

William Forsythe carved a formidable career in Europe

with infrequent returns to NYC. His collaboration with Thierry de Mey, acclaimed for

his screen adaptations of works by Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker, brings us insights

into his ingenious choreography.



Dido and Aeneas (Barbara Willis Sweete, Canada, 1995, 55min.)

An adaptation by choreographer Mark Morris and his

Mark Morris Dance Group, of the Henry Purcell baroque opera. Dido, the noble

queen of Carthage has fallen in love the Trojan prince, Aeneas. While the court

celebrates the imminent union of the two monarchs, the evil sorceress with her

coven of witches, plots their downfall. Romance leads to heartbreak and tragedy.






Sept. 15 SAT 8:30pm: JAZZ on Film #2:

Queen Of Swing (John Biffar/2007) Miami Premiere!


The documentary

Queen of Swing is the life story of the remarkable and inspiring entertainer

Norma Miller. Her story spans a generation of cultural changes, challenges

and African American heritage. At a time of civil strife in America, the birth

of jazz music and new black dance forms played an important role in breaking

down the barriers to racial equality. Norma Miller was at the center of that

cultural revolution. She danced her way out of the ghetto and right into the

hearts and minds of a world wide audience.

“As you make your bed so will you lie. This is what you do before you die.

Before I die there’s just one thing, I’ll do my thing, and swing, baby, swing.”

...Keep on swingin’ and it’ll keep you going. Duke Ellington said it.

It had to be true.”—Norma Miller

Meet the legendary Norma Miller! She will join director

John Biffar who will introduce the film and be present for Q&A!






Sept. 16 SUN 8:30pm: “The Aesthete” (1912-2007)

ANTONIONI: Blow-Up (1966)

With David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, Jane Birkin, Veruska

In one of the most

influential films in history, Antonioni’s English debut is his up-to-the minute version

of “through a glass darkly” where everyone sees only what they want to see in

individual worlds that may or may not collide, the *image* is the most important

thing. Aesthetically, Antonioni presents a surface point of view, but underneath is

where the real secrets lie. David Hemmings is the hottest fashion photographer in

swinging 60’s London, (based roughly on the legendary David Bailey) and he

accidentally discovers a possible murder while working (influenced roughly on the

then recent JFK assassination). Like our lives, the puzzle is inevitably missing a

few pieces, and the solution is up to us without ever finding all the clues, or even,

ultimately, the characters.

“It emerges as a great film, if not the one we thought we were seeing at the time”

—Roger Ebert

WINNER: Palm d’Or Cannes Film Festival

National Society of Film Critics Best Film, Best Director





19 WED 8:30pm: Miami Premiere!

Presented by SIEMPRE FLAMENCO

& ART WORKS FOR US...

When The Road Bends:

Tales of the Gypsy Caravan

(Documentary/ Jasmine Dellel/2007)





With Fanfare Ciocarlia, Taraf de Haidouks,

and Johnny Depp (as himself)

“You cannot walk straight when the road bends”—Romani proverb

Shot by legendary cinematographer Albert Maysles, this dynamic musical

documentary follows five Gypsy bands from four countries who unite for the

Gypsy Caravan as they take their show around North America for a six-week

tour, astounding every audience they meet. Their musical styles range from

flamenco to brass band, Romanian violin to Indian folk. They celebrate the

best in Gypsy culture in an explosion of song and dance.

WINNER: Audience Award San Francisco Indepenendent Film Festival,

Flanders Int’l Film Festival, Jeonji Korea Int’l Film Festival

Impact Of Music Jury Award Nashville Independent Film Festival

“It would be great if by experiencing the Romani people and their music,

people can learn more about them and understand that—what you’ve

believed about these people has been a lie your entire life”—Johnny Depp



With LIVE music by Paco Fonta and Friends,

and reception with tapas afterwards!

$15 or $12 MBC Members






Sept. 20 THU 8:30pm: Independent LENS 2007-2008

Florida exclusive previews of award winning documentaries

before they air on PBS...Presented with HANDS ON MIAMI

Season Premiere! Florida Premiere!

Please Vote For Me (Weijen Chen/2007)

Want to find out how democracy really

works? Then head to China. Three eight-year-old students—a charismatic

challenger, a ruthless incumbent, and a thoughtful outsider—all campaign

for the coveted position of class monitor in a third grade classroom in Wuhan,

China. Hot debates. Backstabbing. Alliances.

Move over Little League, real sport is coming, and it’s called democracy.

COMPLIMENTARY Screening (donations welcome!)



Sept. 21 FRI 8:30pm: “The Dreamer” (1918-2007)

BERGMAN: The Silence (Tystnaden) (1963)

With Ingrid Thulin, Gunnel Lindblom, Jörgen Lindström

Cinematography by Sven Nykvist

Ester (Thulin): “...The forces are all too strong. I mean the forces,

the horrible forces. You need to watch your step among the ghosts and memories.”

The last film in Bergman’s

“Faith Trilogy” (comprised also of Through A Glass Darkly and Winter Light),

The Silence focuses on the inability to communicate with both human or heavenly

presences, and desires of the physical rather than spiritual. In his lifetime wrestle

with religion and human emotion, Bergman was at the pinnacle of his very

personal experimental voyage in the 1960’s, creating one of the most searing,

controversial, and mysterious portraits of his career. Ester (Thulin) and Anna

(Lindblom) are sisters who decide to rest on their way home from a vacation home,

due to Ester’s unexpected illness. The town they stop in is as foreign as their

connection to each other, and the profound experience there will be unforgettable

for both, as well as for Anna’s impressionable son. In Swedish with English subtitles.

“BERGMAN AT HIS MOST POWERFUL! A sexual frankness that blazes

a new trail. Wonderful, marvelous, shuddering performances.”—A. Winston NY Post

WINNER: Swedish Film Institute Academy Awards Best Film, Best Director,

Best Actress Ingrid Thulin






Sept. 22 SAT 8:30pm:

Miami Short Film Festival Preview:



“The Best of Student Short Films”

The best examples of student short films from this year’s Miami Short Film Festival

will be screened at MBC. The film titles and directors will be announced soon,

just after the final selection process takes place. The 6th Annual MSFF will take place

on November 26 through December 02 at various venues including the Bill Cosford

Cinema, the Tower Theater, Miami Museum Of Science, and MBC!






Sept. 28 FRI 8:30pm: “The Aesthete” (1912-2007)

ANTONIONI: Zabriskie Point (1970)

With Mark Frechette, Daria Halprin, Rod Taylor

Music by Pink Floyd, Jerry Garcia

Exploding with a European artistic

sense that went too far for most Americans--besides the acclimated cinephiles who

clamored to defend it as it shocked the establishment, and formed a cult status around it--

Antonioni followed Blow-Up with an anti-war, anti-consumerist visit to Death Valley

USA. Using young non-actors Mark Frechette and Daria Halprin as his representatives

of the new generation amidst a corrupt society, they wander and ponder throughout

Antonioni’s cinematic canvas. Mark is a dropout fugitive (not unlike his tragic real life),

and Daria is a teetering pro-developer anthropology student. As an Italian in America,

he saw the American situation with his undiluted austere sense of visual style and

sensibility, making this film one of the most debated examples of a foreigner’s point of

view, along with the upcoming Blueberry Nights by Wong Kar Wai, and Bruno Dumont’s

Twentynine Palms (coming soon to MBC!).

“All of Death Valley erupts with life and love...”—Vincent Canby New York Times

“The films (of Antonioni) pose a subject (only to compromise it), constitute objects

(only to dissolve them), propose stories (only to lose them)...but in such a way that

the surface takes on a fascination, becomes a "subject" all its own.”

--Sam Rhodie –from his book Antonioni






Sept. 30 SUN 8pm: “DOCUSPAIN” Season Premiere!

Award winning, provocative documentaries in Spanish,

produced with Spanish support...once a month at MBC!

Presented with MAHOU, and PRAGDA Barcelona/New York,

with support from the Embassy of Spain, the Spain Foreign Cultural Corporation,

and the International Documentary Association

MAHOU, PRAGDA and MBC present a series of provocative and brilliantly conceived Spanish

documentaries that have revived the genre with new forms of expression. The program will tour the

U.S. during 2007 and 2008. Included is the winner of the prestigious Joris Ivens Award at IDFA and

this year’s Academy Award® qualifying My Grandmother's House; Oliver Stone's remarkable and

highly controversial study of Fidel Castro, Comandante; the spectacularly powerful document about

a Brazilian favela that uses music for social change The Miracle of Candeal; Academy Award®

nominated Balseros; "The most controversial Spanish film in decades." as per Fiachra Gibbons

from The Guardian--The Basque Ball by Julio Medem (Sex and Lucia); the humorous and very touching

piece of Spain Seville Southside; the taboo subject of Franco’s concentration camps in Bars In The Memory;

and the emotionally turbulent Memory Train.

La Casa de mi Abuela (My Grandmother’s House) Adan Alaga/2005

How does a pop duet

work out for impulsive and irreverent six-year-old Marina and 75 year old Marita?

Cheeky Marina plays to the camera, ignoring the chiding of her aged grandmother,

Marita. Marita's crumbling house was built by her long-dead husband. She moved in

when they married, over 53 years ago, and nothing much has changed since. Now her

home is under threat; the neighborhood is being torn down, replaced with charmless

apartments.

WINNER: Joris Ivans Award, Miami Film Festival Special Grand Jury Mention

Toronto Hot Docs Grand Jury Prize, Chicago Int’l Film Festival Silver Gen Award

Belgrade Int’l Film Festival Best Documentary







Every DOCUSPAIN film will be followed by an afterparty at Tapas y Tintos,

featuring complimentary tapas and MAHOU beer for filmgoers!








T H E M I A M I B E A C H C I N E M A T H E Q U E

512 Española Way at Plaza de España (305) 67-FILMS (673-4567) www.MBCINEMA.com



FILMS: $10 or $6 MBC Members and Students

Gypsy Caravan premiere $15 and $12 MBC Members

Independent LENS: complimentary admission

Exhibition complimentary and viewable before and after screenings.

Doors open 1/2 hour before screenings